How Educational Leaders Sustain Equity Work in a Politically Hostile Environment

Beginning in 2021, legislation targeting Critical Race Theory was introduced and adopted across the United States. Over time, these efforts expanded to include banning books and dismantling diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in K-12 and higher education. While external pressure has led some educators to scale back their equity-oriented practices, less is known about how equity-focused efforts are maintained in this hostile environment. This paper presents evidence from a national initiative where school districts, universities, and state education departments in eight U.S. locations collaborated to develop pathways for equity-oriented school leadership. Based on interviews, observations, and document reviews, we find that team members used existing civil rights infrastructure (such as equity offices and roles) and institutionalized equity language in official documents (like equity language in principal standards) to legitimize their efforts and protect them from external criticism. As equity language and these offices became targeted, educational organizations responded by strategically reframing their equity work, disconnecting their language from actual practices and appearing to meet new expectations while avoiding unwanted scrutiny.